Another solid year of new music. The following is a summary of some of my favorites from 2011:

Best Track of the Year:

Mountains : Blue Lanterns on East Oxford off their excellent Air Museum album:

Compressed audio does this track little justice (seriously, the above video sounds horrible – I shouldn’t even post it – hearing the extreme frequencies on this track really matter – it’s like drinking a famous vintage of your favorite wine out of a plastic cup). If you ever have a chance to see Mountains live, do not miss out. They are one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen – they put to shame most electronic/’laptop’ artists.

Favorite Album:

Stephan Mathieu : Remain [Line]

Much like Barnett Newman’s Vir Heroicus Sublimis, this album excels through its remarkably simple structure – exemplifying a perfect execution of the minimalist esthetic. I thought I’d missed out on owning this album due to its limited pressing, but it’s fitting that I randomly found a copy on a weekend trip to Baltimore.

From Stephan’s website:

My sound is largely based on early instruments, environmental sound and obsolete media which are recorded and transformed by means of experimental microphony, re-editing techniques and software processes involving spectral analysis and convolution, and has been compared to the landscape paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and the work of Colorfield artists Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Ellsworth Kelly.

A Static Place, also released this year on 12k, is excellent as well:

The rest in no particular order:

Julianna Barwick : The Magic Place [Asthmatic Kitty]

Very unlike most of the music I listen to, it’s hard to find a single fault in Julianna’s album.

Beirut : The Rip Tide [Pompeii Records]

Zach Condon returned with his strongest release since his impeccable The Flying Club Cup. I challenge you to dislike the track Payne’s Bay.

The Caretaker : An Empty Bliss Beyond This World [History Always Favours the Winners]

James Kirby released lots of material in 2011, but this album stands out the most to me. The dominate adjective that comes to mind for this album is ‘haunting’. From a pitchfork review:

Bliss was inspired by a 2010 study suggesting that Alzheimer’s patients have an easier time remembering information when it’s placed in the context of music. What makes it unique isn’t that Kirby resuscitates old but vaguely familiar source material; it’s how he edits it. Several of the tracks here take pretty, anodyne phrases and loop them mindlessly; several stop in what feels like mid-thought; several reach back and then jump forward. They never feel filled-in from start to finish, and they tend to linger on moments that feel especially comforting or conclusive: the last flourishes of a song, maybe, the pat on the shoulder, the part when we’re assured everything is drawing to a close. Kirby isn’t just making nostalgic music, he’s making music that mimics the fragmented and inconclusive ways our memories work.

DOM : Family Of Love EP

DOM will become very popular in near future. Their latest EP is probably the most fun album I’ve listened to this year, and a solid follow-up to their amazing Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP. Their single, Happy Birthday Party, is pop perfection:

Christian Fennesz : Seven Stars EP [Touch]

A solid evolution to Fennesz’s sound. Anything he does makes it onto my end of year lists by default:

Tim Hecker : Ravedeath, 1972 + Dropped Pianos [Kranky]

Like Fennesz, Tim Hecker can do no wrong. These albums are no exception:

Mark McGuire : A Young Person’s Guide To Mark McGuire + Get Lost [Editions Mego]

The first track to A Young Person’s…, the 17+ minute Dream Team from his 2008 micro release will have anyone hooked:

Andy Stott : We Stay Together [Modern Love]

Just an awesome album which will be on everyone’s end of year list. Anyone who craves the old Chain Reaction material will love this album. I prefer it slightly to his Passed Me By album. I believe the below is a borrowed National Geographic photograph for the album’s cover art:

Christopher Willits : Gold [self-released]

Another excellent long-form ambient track from Willits:

Best Re-Release:

William Basinski : A Red Score In Tile

Probably my most prized possession on vinyl gets the CD re-release for mass audience. Basinski had a big year with his masterpiece, The Disintegration Loops, being performed live at the Met by the Wordless Music Orchestra on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.